Full Stamen Ahead
by dfcfanfics
Summary: The senior class at Françoise Dupont High School is doing a Carnation Day fundraiser, where a small fee gets white, pink or red flowers delivered to a recipient. Marinette struggles with getting up the nerve to send a red one to Adrien... which doesn't go unnoticed. Will crafty friends and devious enemies lend Fate a hand here? Fluff, five parts, now complete. Thanks for reading!
1. Planting the Seeds

MiraculElse #13: Full Stamen Ahead

by DFC

(Timeline: Present.)

* * *

Chapter 1: Planting the Seeds

* * *

_You need to do this, Marinette,_ she thought to herself. _It's the simplest little thing. There's nothing to be scared of... right?_

She stared down at the small sheet of paper in front of her, next to her 50c coin. It read:

* * *

*** SENIOR CLASS CARNATION DAY - 50c - DELIVERY APRIL 17 ***

**TO: **Adrien Agreste

**FROM:**

**COLOR:**

**MESSAGE:**

* * *

The three empty fields stared back at her, silently, mocking her indecisiveness.

_I don't _have_ to do this_... _I've already gone farther with this than I thought that I would've..._

..._But it's _right here_ in front of me. All I have to do is write it out..._

Marinette took a deep breath, barked mental orders at her right hand, and wrote:

**COLOR: **Red

* * *

As the students filtered into the lunchroom back on Monday afternoon, a table with a colorful CARNATION DAY banner caught their attention.

"Hey, what's that all about?" asked Adrien, in the direction of Nino and Alya right behind him.

"Oh, it's another cynical attempt to drain the pocket money of young people..." Alya drawled, then laughed when she saw the boys giving her a puzzled look. "I'm kidding! It's just another fundraiser."

"Yeah, you'll get used to those around here. Every class has them every couple of months," Nino explained. "Freshmen usually get stuck trying to sell candy bars. Sophomores did a pledged dance marathon last year, but after two of them got carted out from exhaustion, they'll probably try something else when it's their turn again... Seniors traditionally have Carnation Day."

"It's pretty simple. You pay 50 cents for a carnation, and you write down who it's for. You can write your name under **From:,** but there are always a few secret admirers out there who leave that blank, too. Add a message if you like, and pick a color: white is for friendship, pink is for someone special, red is for love," added Alya. "The seniors will take all the orders, order the right number of flowers and package everything up, and then they'll deliver them in the middle of next week."

"How do they know where to deliver them?" Adrien asked, his curiosity rising.

"The main office gives them access to the master schedules for that. They'll deliver them in waves, so they can spread them out throughout the day," Alya said. "For white and pink, they just hand them over all at once at the start of the day; for red, they usually ham it up and sing love songs and make a big deal out of it. Highly embarrassing."

"Good to know that you think so," Nino smiled.

"And I _fully expect_ to be highly embarrassed at some point," grinned Alya. "I've never been dating someone during one of these before, so..."

_"Also_ good to know."

"Sounds like fun," Adrien agreed. "How many do people usually send?"

"One or two... just a couple at most, usually," Nino replied. "If you're dating someone, it's pretty much a must, and _yes, I heard that_ just now," he laughed. "Beyond that, not too many? The guys don't usually get them for other guy friends, though sometimes they do. Depends on who it is."

"Yeah, the girls are a little more into that," said Alya. "We like to round-robin them so that everybody gets one or two, but no one needs a wheelbarrow to take all of theirs home. And then, like he said, if you're dating someone, or if someone's done you some big favors or kindnesses, it's a way to let them know you care... Sometimes you'll get someone who's looking for love and sends out a whole bunch of reds to see if anyone responds, but that's usually pretty obvious."

"There's a table in here at lunchtime, and they put one by the front and back doors, too. If you're interested," added Nino.

"Oh, I might be. I can think of some possibilities..." smiled Adrien.

* * *

*** SENIOR CLASS CARNATION DAY - 50c - DELIVERY APRIL 17 ***

**TO: **Adrien Agreste

**FROM:**

**COLOR:** Red

**MESSAGE:**

_Two down, two to go, _thought Marinette. _I should focus on the message; that's the most important part._

Marinette gathered her thoughts... all three of them that she could find, anyway, as they seemed to have scattered to the four winds.

_Oh my gosh... what am I going to write? I don't want to just put "I love you," not when some seniors I've never met will be handling it. So I don't want to get all gushy, especially since I've never said anything like this to him before - well, I _tried_, that day on the train with the letter, and I know how _that_ turned out - but I'm sending a RED one, so I need to make this come from the heart -_

"Hey, any day now, okay?" grumbled a familiar voice from behind her. "You're holding up the line."

"S-sorry!" Marinette gasped, shuffling her possessions off to the side to make room. Her sense of actually feeling sorry faded once she saw who was standing there. "Chloé, you're doing something nice for other people? Will wonders never cease?" she asked.

"As if," her blonde classmate sniffed, Sabrina by her side as always. "I'm just curious, that's all."

"I have a few of them to send, though," Sabrina piped up. "I didn't mean to rush you."

_Great,_ Marinette thought. _Just who I didn't need looking over my shoulder right now. But I have to get this done now; it's the last day to order them!_

* * *

She thought back to her previous attempt, two afternoons before. As lunch was ending that day, the girls had walked together out of the rear courtyard and had seen another Carnation Day table, set up just inside the door.

"Oh! I need to send my flowers. We have a few minutes, right?" asked Rose, eagerly.

"Yeah, we should, and I need to order Ivan's, too. Unfortunately, they don't do them in black," Mylène laughed.

"I don't think he'll care, as long as it's from you," Rose smiled.

"_That's_ funny... because I'm over here buying a pink one, instead of red," said Juleka, "because pink is _somebody's _color."

"And I'm pretty sure that _she_ wouldn't care... but she loves that someone takes the time to notice that," beamed Rose.

"How about you, Marinette?" Alya asked, handing over her own coin. "Are you ready to blow you-know-who's mind? Is today the day?"

"I'm... I'm gonna do it," she gulped. "Last time that they did this, I was too nervous to send Adrien one... but I'm ready now." She displayed a 50-cent coin and handed it to the girl across the desk.

"Awesome!" the senior girl said. "What color are you getting him?"

"Pink!" declared Marinette, proudly...

...only for her face to fall once her friends groaned in unison.

_"Pink?" _complained Alix.

"Well, _yeah!_" Marinette ventured, cautiously. "He's someone very special to me. I don't want to just send white, you know? I want him to know that he's more than just a friend to me."

"I really don't think white was what we had in mind, either," Alya lectured her, sounding disappointed. "You want to be way more than a friend to _him_, right?"

"Of course I do!" pouted Marinette, quietly.

"Does _he_ know that?"

* * *

Alya made a surprised face, as did the other girls, as Marinette turned to face Alix.

"Don't give me that look, it's a fair question. _Does_ he know that?" Alix asked again. "I mean, _we_ all know that. I think there are Martians who know that. But I'm not sure if _Adrien's_ figured it out yet."

"I would like to think that he hasn't," Mylène noted, a bit hesitantly. "Adrien thinks a lot of you, Marinette. We can all see _that_. So if he did know, he doesn't seem the type just to leave you hanging."

"Exactly my point," Alix replied, with some emphasis. "He wouldn't hurt you on purpose. But he's been giving you the twitches for _months_ now, right? He's a better friend now, but he's still a _friend_. And he might never give you more than that unless you ask him for it."

Marinette stared back, searching for a response to that. She looked across at Rose and Juleka, who gave her sympathetic looks but who were not in a hurry to leap into the middle of this.

"I... don't know," said Marinette, slowly. "I mean, he kind of _has to_ have an idea by now, doesn't he? But if he had... um... you both make a good point."

"And I seem to recall that you told him directly that you _weren't_ crushing on him," Alya reminded her. "That you were just _so into fashion!_"

Marinette frowned at Alya's lightly mocking tone, but knew the truth in it. "You have _no idea_ what that day was like for me, Alya," she sulked, stung. "I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide for ten years."

"I know you did... we all get that. That day was weapons-grade embarrassing," Alix said. "And, okay, that day was _way_ too much and you weren't ready then. No one can blame you for that! But you've had a lot of other chances since."

"I did kiss him at the picnic, remember?" argued Marinette. _"That_ made his eyes go big."

"A good start," noted Juleka. "But... a start's not a finish."

"I know," Marinette agreed, her face falling. "I've tried since! I tried writing my feelings out in a letter, and we know what _that_ got me; a bag full of suppositories."

"And I would _love_ to know exactly how that happened," Alya added, shaking her head.

"I _still_ say it was romantic," Rose insisted, in a small voice.

"So how many red carnations are _you_ buying, Alix?" asked Mylène, abruptly.

"None. But I'm not the one who's in _loooooove_," Alix replied... then made a face as she watched Marinette cringe at her words.

"I'm not trying to pick on you, Marinette, okay? Look, everybody knows that I'm... just not into that kind of stuff," Alix told her, defensively. "If I had a thing for someone, I'd probably, I don't know, hit them with something and drag them off like a caveman."

The imagery got a general laugh while Alix continued. "But that's me, not you. You're not wired like that, and that's fine! But if he's clueless, you're stuck where you're at until you find a way to tell him. Then you can either get what you want or at least rip the band-aid off."

Marinette took that in, silently, then looked at the girl behind the table. The senior looked back with a questioning look, something of a smile in it, as if asking, _Well?_

"Pink. Pink for today," she decided, writing it on the order sheet before she could change her mind. "But... the week's not over yet, okay? I need to think about this some more... maybe I will get up the nerve later."

* * *

_And now... here I am,_ she thought, _at the end of the week. And I could spend all day trying to work out what to write, but I've only got a few minutes to get this right before I need to get moving!_

_But _what should_ I say?_

The girl behind the table waited patiently, watching Sabrina scribbling onto her order sheets and Marinette standing perfectly still.

"So who are _you_ sending flowers to?" brayed Chloé, abruptly. "White ones for your girlfriends, or just to yourself so that you'll have _something_ to carry around?"

"_None_ of your business," snapped Marinette, a bit too nervously, shielding her order sheet with her hand. This, of course, made Marinette's sheet of paper the most interesting thing in the world to Chloé, who danced around her trying to get a glimpse of it.

"Red? Ohhhh! _Someone's_ got a crush!" Chloé grinned. "I wonder who it could be?"

_You know very well who it is,_ grumbled Marinette, internally. "And I don't really care if I have one to carry around or not," she sniffed at Chloé. "This isn't a popularity contest."

"Good thing, too!" she giggled back. "No one else would stand a chance. I always come home with an armful of flowers from my admirers..."

Marinette glared at her, then glanced down at what Sabrina was writing, and couldn't suppress a smirk. "Yeah... but does it count if you're paying Sabrina to send them to you?" she asked.

"I do _not..._" Chloé began, slowly realizing that she was in fact standing there with several Euro coins in her hand, extending them towards Sabrina. She pulled her hand back and continued, "...need to stand here and take this from a _nobody_ like you."

Marinette seethed inside, wondering if the steam coming out of her ears was visible. She was just about to snap back at her when her phone's alarm went off.

"Oh, _crap_," she muttered. _I'm supposed to meet Alya by the library in five minutes, and I'm going to have to RUN to make it!_

Helplessly, Marinette stared down at the order sheet, then at the salesgirl, then back at the sheet. She muttered, "I'll have to finish this later, I guess!", grabbed her purse and took off at high speed.

Chloé watched the salesgirl's eyes follow Marinette out of the lunchroom. The senior turned to the order sheet and the coin beside it and shrugged. "Well, she paid for it, I'll put it through," she said, putting it on the stack of orders.

"Can... I see that for a second?" asked Chloé, grabbing at it before the salesgirl could say "no." She glimpsed the two lines Marinette had filled in before it was snatched back out of her hands, with the senior giving her a nasty look.

"Buy your own," the salesgirl growled. "That's someone else's."

An evil expression floated across Chloé's face. "You know what? I think I will," she sneered, laying down a small handful of coins.

* * *

The final bell rang, and Marinette burst out of her classroom.

"Hey, wait!" called Alya, startled. "Aren't you walking out with us?"

"Sorry!" yelled Marinette, receding into the distance. "I have a quick... um... errand to run!"

Alya stood there for another moment until Nino caught up with her. As the two walked down the main hall, they saw the Carnation Day table that was set up by the front entrance.

"You know..." Alya mumbled, with a calculating look in her eyes.

"Know what?" asked Nino, absently, noticing that she'd stopped walking.

"_Someone_ we know really wanted to send her crush a red carnation the other day... but she just couldn't get up the nerve, even after we all tried to talk her into it," smiled Alya, reaching into her purse.

Nino watched her hand over a Euro coin and pick up an order sheet, with increasing unease. "If she'd wanted to do that... she would've, like, just _done it_, though, right?" he argued. "What are you doing, Alya?"

"Being one of Cupid's little helpers," she grinned back.

"This isn't... this isn't _right_," Nino frowned. "You should not be doing this!"

"Oh, and watching her suffer in silence every day is good for her, huh?" argued Alya, writing furiously. "You just wait and watch. If it works out like I think it will, she'll _so_ thank me later."

* * *

Chloé and Sabrina strolled past the two of them, hearing small fragments of their argument while heading out the front door towards the Bourgeois family driver.

Sabrina stole a glance at the Carnation Day table on their way out, and shuddered, slightly. "Chloé... that was _wrong_, what you did back in the lunchroom," she managed. "You could cause a lot of problems between them."

"Oh, get real! Adriekins has a sense of humor, and he'll enjoy the attention. And as for Dupain-Cheng, she was _horribly rude_ to me."

_Rude, maybe a little, but you started it,_ Sabrina thought. _Wrong... not really._

"After all these years, she should know that if you disrespect _me_, you pay a price for that," Chloé smirked. "This will be delicious to watch! And, besides, I have to look out for my friends, you know?"

"You... do?" asked Sabrina.

"Of course! Not that _everyone_ isn't out of Dupain-Cheng's league... but Adrien's so far above her that he can't even _see _her down there. So why make him have to put up with her little crush for the rest of this year, if I can put her out of her misery all in one day?"

Sabrina stared back. "That's... _cold," _she stammered.

"Pffft! More like a public service," scoffed Chloé. "Come on, already! My driver's waiting."

Sabrina stood still for a moment, her head down... then shuffled along to catch up to Chloé, dutifully.

* * *

Pink-clad feet flew down one hallway, then another.

_I didn't get a chance to get back here between classes..._

Rounding a corner, she transitioned from rug to tile floor and skidded briefly, waving her arms wildly to try to regain her balance with a yelp.

_I don't know what I'm going to write but I've got to write SOMETHING..._

She headed for the doors of the lunchroom, which to her relief, were still hanging open.

_She's just got to still be here, she's GOT to be..._

Bursting into the room, Marinette looked in the direction of the Carnation Day table, and...

_CRAP._

...saw an empty table, with the banner long since removed from it.

* * *

A senior boy in the front lobby gathered up his belongings, and was in the process of folding up the banner on the table he was sitting at when a young woman came running up, wild-eyed and out of breath.

"H-hi! I'm... I have a... question... about the carnations..." Marinette gasped.

"We're kind of done for the day, sorry..." the boy apologized.

"No! It's... I don't need to buy another one... I don't... I bought one in the lunchroom, earlier today," she forced out, catching her breath gradually. "But I didn't get to finish... what I was writing on it... and they're not there now..."

"Yeah, that was... I think that was Sarah who was selling them today. She took everything back to the storeroom after last lunch, so, what, two hours ago?"

"But..." Marinette gave him her very best doe-eyed _pleeeeeease?_ expression. "I didn't get to put a message on mine. Is there somewhere... I could go... to finish it?"

"Sorry, there isn't," he said, busying himself with his backpack. "Once they're bought, they're bought. Maybe next time?"

He headed down the hallway, leaving Marinette standing there with a crestfallen expression. _Oh, well,_ she thought. _He's going to wonder why I didn't..._

_...WAIT! I didn't sign my NAME to it, either, did I?_

_Nooooooo... not AGAIN!_

Marinette closed her eyes in frustration.

_Oh, I don't know. Maybe that's for the best,_ she pondered, as she slumped out the front door of the school.

_I was kidding myself about being ready to send him a red one anyway. He'll have the pink one I sent, and I hope that he'll like that, and he won't know that I embarrassed myself with the one I bought today._

_Yeah,_ she smiled, as she trotted down the front stairs. _Who'd want a Carnation Day with a lot of drama, anyway?_

* * *

Next time:

* Delivery day arrives.

* "Wait. How would you know what I wrote?"

* "But if there's one person here who fascinates me..."

* _It's happening! What's happening? Look! It's finally HAPPENING! It IS?_

_* _A little song, a little dance, is that a little romance?


	2. When Feelings Begin to Bloom

Chapter 2: When Feelings Begin to Bloom

* * *

On the morning of the 17th, there was a mild but distinct buzz floating around Ms. Bustier's classroom as the school day began.

"So, how do they do this again?" Adrien whispered to Nino, nervously.

"Pink and white carnations mostly get delivered here, in homerooms. Red ones get spaced out through the day," he replied. "Usually in the first or last 10 minutes of class, so lessons aren't interrupted too often. You'll know it when it happens."

Behind him, Marinette felt like she was on pins and needles. Alya elbowed her gently.

"Are you going to make it through your morning?" Alya asked her. "You look like if I tapped you with my pen, you'd pop like a balloon."

"Can you blame me?" gasped Marinette, as quietly as she could. "It's almost here! I wrote out how I feel..."

That got her a knowing look from Alya.

"Fine... I wrote out _part of _how I feel! That counts for something, right?" Marinette conceded. "And _this time_ he'll get to read it!"

Alya watched as excitement converted quickly to anxiety. "And that's a _good_ thing, isn't it?" she assured Marinette. "It's something that he's needed to know for a long time."

_"Yes_, but I don't know if I wrote it the way I wanted to write it, or if he'll read it and know what I meant by it, or if he'll understand what I _wanted_ to write but I just couldn't... I didn't have a lot of space to write in and there are so many things I wanted to say and I kept changing the words around..."

"Shhhh!" Alya giggled. "Unless you want to give him a sneak preview right now."

"I know!" whispered Marinette. "But I don't want it to be too _much_, or too _little_... or coming on too strong, or..."

A knock at the door heralded a small group of seniors, pushing a cart loaded with colorful carnations wrapped in green paper.

"It will be _fine_," Alya smiled. Her smile widened as she added, "In fact, you might be surprised at _just how much_ he'll enjoy what you wrote to him."

Marinette smiled, then looked puzzled. "Wait. How would you know what I wrote?" she asked, then clammed up as names started being called.

* * *

As expected, flowers began to fill the classroom rapidly. Marinette read the card on a white one handed to her - _Is it from Adrien? Is it from ADRIEN? Is it from -_

"Thank you, Mylène!" she smiled, trying not to let any disappointment show. _Be cool, be cool, _she thought. _Lots more flowers on the cart..._

Adrien received a white one - _I didn't send that one,_ thought Marinette - and thanked Nino for it. Marinette looked around and saw Rose with a pink carnation, beaming at Juleka. Mylène grinned at Ivan and mouthed _You just wait_ at him, silently. Chloé sat proudly with a bundle of pink flowers, doing her best to show off her _considerable_ popularity while discreetly tucking the cards out of sight.

Another white one came Marinette's way. She accepted it happily, peeking at the card... "Oh, thank you, Max!" she beamed, caught off-guard. "That was really nice of you!"

"No problem," Max grinned. "You're always so nice to me, so I figured, why not?"

"Adrien Agreste?" called a senior girl, holding a pink carnation.

Marinette held her breath.

Adrien reached out, looking visibly surprised, and accepted the carnation. As discreetly as she could, Marinette peeped over his shoulder to make sure that it was hers... and a thrill ran through her when she saw her name on the **From**: line.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" the girl continued... holding another pink carnation.

"...What?" Marinette replied, her eyes big, looking around the room.

"Marinette, that's for you!" Rose cooed, waving her attention towards the front of the room.

With a shaking hand, Marinette reached out and accepted it. Alya held her breath as Marinette examined the card...

* * *

Adrien admired the pink petals in front of him, remembering the color code: _Pink is for someone special,_ Nino had told him, _more than just friendship. I wasn't expecting this!_

_But who would send one of these to ME?_

He looked at Chloé, who shrugged and smiled enigmatically. He turned his attention back to the flower, took the card in hand, and read:

* * *

**TO: **Adrien Agreste

**FROM:** Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**COLOR: **Pink

**MESSAGE:**

Dear Adrien...

I've been wanting to tell you for a long time how happy I am that we've grown closer. I look forward to every day that I'll get to see you here. I hope that you'll continue to get to know me better, and that this flower will make you smile, because every time that you do, everything around you shines a little brighter... including me.

Have a wonderful day, and I hope that I'll be part of it!

Marinette

* * *

_Wow! _he thought, staring intently at the card. _If I didn't know better, I'd think... that she..._

_...That was so sweet of her! I don't want to make a big scene and embarrass her here in class... but, wow, I need to thank her for this so much!_

_And I so hope that she likes hers..._

* * *

Behind him, a young woman unfolded her card, holding her breath as she did so.

_There is no way that this is from Adrien! A pink one, for someone special! I couldn't possibly be that lucky._

_But who else would've sent me -_

_EEEEEP!_

* * *

**TO: **Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**FROM:** Adrien Agreste

**COLOR: **Pink

**MESSAGE:**

Dear Marinette,

When I first came to this school, I hoped that I'd make some true friends... something that I've never really had, if I'm being honest. The people I've met here have been that and more. But if there's one person here who fascinates me, who makes me laugh, whom I can rely on, whom I want to learn more about... it's you.

I am so glad that we met, and so happy that you've shared yourself with me the way you have. I don't say things like this as often as I should... I'm not the best at expressing myself... but I wanted you to know.

Adrien

* * *

"Who's it from? What does it _say?"_ whispered Alya, only to be waved off frantically by Marinette, who was visibly overwhelmed and swimming through the land of pink clouds.

Adrien turned around, a wide smile on his own face, and whispered, "Marinette?" in her direction.

A light undercurrent whirled around the classroom, watching the scene unfold. _It's happening! What's happening? Look! It's finally HAPPENING! It IS?_

His voice registered in Marinette's ears, and she met his gaze, wordlessly.

"Thank you _so much!_" Adrien said, softly. "I _really_ love what you wrote. That means a lot to me."

"M-me too!" Marinette stammered. "I mean, what you wrote to _me_, not what I wrote! Not that I didn't mean that... I really did... I totally didn't expect..."

"Ahem! All right, children..." Ms. Bustier announced, drawing the attention of the class. "I'm sure that everyone's excited by what they just received, but I would like to attempt a little learning this morning. So, shall we?"

Adrien looked at her, then back at Marinette. He whispered, "We'll talk afterwards, okay?" before facing front.

"O-okay!" whispered Marinette, who then assumed a posture that blatantly lied about her being capable of rational thought any time soon.

Across the room, Sabrina eyed them with some concern. "Was that part of your plan?" she whispered to Chloé.

Chloé frowned. "No..." she muttered, "I can't imagine why _he_ would've sent one to _her_... but it'll fit right in. She's flying high now, but by the end of the day she's going to make a complete ass of herself..."

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Chloé?" asked Ms. Bustier, focusing on her.

"N-no, Ms. Bustier! I'm good," smiled Chloé, putting on her best innocent face. "Please continue."

* * *

Their first class ended, and Marinette watched Adrien step out of the room with Nino, looking back at her with a smile as he did so. She clutched at her purse with one hand, and at her pink carnation with a second, trembling one.

"Holy crap, girl! What did he _write?_" asked Alya.

In response, Marinette passed over the card, wordlessly. Alya scanned it quickly, then whistled appreciatively. "Wow, that's wonderful!" she beamed. "That's about as close to red as you can get and still be sending pink!"

"Y-yeah," mumbled Marinette. "What am I going to _say to him?"_

"'Thank you,' for starters?" smiled Alya. "What did you write on his card?"

Marinette rattled off her message from memory, to Alya's nodding approval.

"Oh, I like that! That's about as big of a hint that you're crazy about him that you've managed," she said. "So go talk to him! And, listen - take a breath, girl, and _listen_ \- you don't have to talk about everything you wrote _all at once_. Let it play out. You only have a couple of minutes between classes, so go get him before he has to leave! Just say how much you appreciated what he wrote and that he'd thought of you, and let him take the lead."

"Yeah. Yeah, I need to do that now. Oh, boy..." Marinette steeled herself, took a deep breath, and smiled at her friend before dashing to the classroom door.

* * *

As she'd been hoping, Adrien was standing in the hallway, waiting for her.

"Hi!" he greeted her.

"H-hi!" Marinette replied, trying to force her voice to remain steady.

"Great minds think alike, hmmm?" Adrien smiled, noting the pink flower that each of them carried.

"I... I hope that wasn't too much... I wasn't sure if I should go past white or not, but the more I thought about it..." she managed.

"Really? I knew I'd send you a pink one as soon as I saw the choices," said Adrien. "'For someone special' fits you perfectly."

"Oh! I mean... Adrien, you _are _special to me, too... I hope you know that... I just didn't want to be presumptuous..." Marinette replied, blood rushing to her cheeks. "But what you wrote was _so _amazing, I think I might be staring at it all day! And I wasn't really expecting flowers from _anyone,_ so... thank you so much, Adrien. I truly mean that."

"The feeling is mutual," smiled Adrien. "You have quite a way with words, Marinette. I think I'm glowing inside."

Adrien watched her carefully, making sure that smiles were peeking through her obvious nervousness. He was satisfied that they were... and it seemed like a different kind of nervousness in Marinette this time. _More hopeful or expectant than scared or uncomfortable?_ he wondered.

_Hmmm..._

_Maybe I should..._

"So... I was wondering if..." he began, in a nervous tone.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" a deeper voice rang out.

"Y-yes?" Marinette replied, turning around with visible confusion.

* * *

A tall boy stood next to her, with a red carnation in his hand. He presented it to her with a flourish, saying "Special delivery..." - she very nearly dropped it, from shock - and muttered, "Two, three, four..."

The three boys accompanying him began singing the melody of a love song in an over-the-top manner, and the delivery boy took the lead:

"You're just too _gooooood_ to be truuuuue... Can't take my _eyeeeees_ off of _youuuuuu..."_

Marinette's purse hit the floor, and she wondered how her jaw hadn't.

"You'd be like _heaaaaven_ to touch... I wanna _hooooold_ you _soooo_ much..."

She blanked out, letting the surreality of the situation wash over her. Once the song was over, the lead singer took a small bow and declared, "Happy Carnation Day!"

"W-wait!" Marinette said, still stunned. "Who would've sent me this?"

"That's why there's a card," quipped the senior. "Enjoy!"

* * *

Slowly, three bits of awareness crept back into Marinette's mind:

1) She had about two minutes to run to her next class, if she didn't want to be late.

2) The red carnation was most definitely still there.

3) Adrien, however, was not.

* * *

He wasn't far away... but he was far enough.

Adrien's smile had wavered slightly while he watched Marinette's unexpected delivery.

He was happy for her, certainly. Not everyone got red carnations on days like this; _he_ certainly wouldn't be, for instance. But as the song continued, he tiptoed away quietly, not wishing to interrupt... and part of him felt like he really had been interrupting something.

_She looked awfully startled by that,_ Adrien mused. _Like she wasn't expecting a red one from anyone. Heck, she didn't seem to expect a PINK one from me!_

_But as great a person as she is, surely I can't be the only one who's noticed that!_

_Like... Luka. I'll bet that the red one was from him. I know it wasn't from me, and I know that he likes her, and she likes him..._

_That's too bad,_ he moped. _I'd kind of felt like Marinette and I were... having a bit of a moment this morning, and I was going to ask if she'd like to get together sometime, maybe do a movie or something some night and talk about it..._

_...But if she's got someone who's _that_ into her already, I don't want to get in the way of_ that, he decided. _She knows that she's a very special friend of mine, and she seemed to really like that. That's enough, right?_

_Sure. _

_It'll have to be._

* * *

Marinette stood in the hallway, frozen in place, not a muscle having moved since she'd been serenaded.

A tiny voice called to her from the top of her purse, just out of sight. "Marinette!" hissed Tikki. "You have to get to class now!"

Slowly, her legs started moving, but it was clear that Marinette was operating on autopilot and muscle memory alone.

"Who's it from?" Tikki whispered.

"I don't know yet," Marinette whispered back. "I don't know if I can make myself look at it."

"Why not?" asked Tikki. "Wouldn't you want to know, and to see what they wrote?"

"That's just it, Tikki," Marinette responded, in a thin voice. "Part of me is terrified that it's not from Adrien... and part of me that it _is!_"

"That narrows it down," Tikki said, dryly. "Which would be better?"

"If it's not from Adrien, then he's not in love with me, which I don't think he is _anyway, _though I sure wish that he _was_, but then who _else _could it be from? I mean... Luka is sweet, but I'm not _there_ yet with him, and if it's not _him_, then it's someone _else_ who thinks they're in love with me and everything just got even _more_ complicated!" Marinette babbled, in a low but rapid voice. "But if it _is_ from Adrien, then he sent me a red one and I didn't send _him_ one, but I _did_, but he won't know it's from me because -"

"Psst! Marinette!" hissed Tikki.

"...Yeah?"

"Are people staring at you right now because you're talking to your purse?" she asked.

Marinette looked around. _"A-yup,"_ she confirmed.

"Then _maybe_ you should get to class - and read that card once you get there - and we'll talk about it later?" Tikki smiled, before returning to the depths of Marinette's purse.

* * *

Next time:

* Carnation Coma claims another victim.

* "She loves you, yeah, yeah, _yeaaaah,_ she loves you, yeah, yeah, _yeaaaah..."_

_* _Never let them see you sweat.

* "Be gentle with me, please... I might deny it at first..."

* SCREEEEEEECH! *BANG*

* "_He's_ been throwing himself at _me?_"

* An unlikely interrogator.


	3. Rooted to the Spot

Chapter 3: Rooted to the Spot

* * *

The teacher of Marinette's next class, Mr. Travers, betrayed no surprise from Marinette skidding into his classroom at the last possible moment.

She dashed up to her seat with her heart pounding vigorously. Mylène was in the row behind her, and Marinette heard a loud gasp from her once the red carnation came into view.

"Is that what I think it is?" Marinette heard. "Holy cow! Who sent it?"

"I... don't know yet," Marinette replied, very quietly. "I haven't dared to look."

_Though I have to. This is going to change my life, one way or the other._

With shaking hands, she unfolded the card, and saw:

* * *

**TO: **Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**FROM:** Adrien Agreste

**COLOR: **Red

**MESSAGE:**

Marinette,

I've been watching you... watching me.

I know that you want me.

And this is to tell you, in no uncertain terms - I want YOU, too. So much!

I'll talk to you later today and we can make this happen.

* * *

"Marinette? Are you okay?" whispered Mylène, worriedly.

It became clear, very quickly, that Marinette was neither available right now nor able to take a message.

* * *

_I am hallucinating. I am dreaming. I am fantasizing. I've been drugged. I've been hit on the head by a thrown brick. _

_There is no way that I read the words on that paper that I thought that I just read. They cannot possibly exist in any universe._

Through her fingers, she opened one eye very slightly and peeked, then shut it again with a tiny squeaking sound.

"Marinette?" whispered Mylène again.

Mr. Travers noticed her distress and gestured in Marinette's direction. "Ah, Carnation Coma. A chronic disorder this time of year," he quipped to a general round of laughter, then returned to his lesson.

A tiny part of Marinette's rational mind attempted to reassert itself, shouting into the gale-force emotions blowing around her:

_Does that even SOUND like something Adrien would write? He's a gentle soul, not a ladykiller._

_It doesn't read like his earlier one did. When you talked with him, he sounded surprised that you sent him a PINK carnation, much less that he'd been thinking "I know that you want me!"_

_He didn't give you any hints that this was coming, either._

_THINK about this before you get overwhelmed by it, Marinette! Something's weird about this!_

It never stood a chance.

* * *

Over in Physics, Adrien was a little bit distracted, but managed to keep his mind mostly on Ms. Mendeleiev's pop quiz.

Once he'd finished it and turned it in, however, that left him sitting quietly alone with his thoughts... and his pink carnation, and its accompanying message from Marinette.

_I don't want to read something into this that isn't really there,_ Adrien pondered. _She _did_ choose pink, not red. Just like I did, and I didn't mean "I'm in love with you" when I sent HER a pink one._

_Still... she has quite a way with phrasing, _he smiled, looking over the card again. _I can almost feel sweetness radiating off the card. __"Everything around you shines a little brighter... including me."_

_I have to agree that she shines very brightly, though I don't think it's because of me! I mean, she does get nervous around me, and I'm still trying to figure that out about her... but when she's comfortable and happy, she really does sparkle! So smart, so funny, so pretty..._

_It's funny. One of the reasons why nobody seems to like Chloé very much is that she's SO sure that she's the best at everything. She's the resident diva, she's the prettiest, she's the cleverest, she's the richest, she can get away with anything... and she's not totally wrong, but the way she lords it over everyone but me drives them NUTS._

Adrien's smile grew dreamier. _And then there's Marinette, who's just as pretty... a lot more so, really! She's super-creative, she's got so many talents, she has the best personality, she's the sweetest girl I know... and it's as if she doubts herself sometimes. She can't believe that anyone else sees that she's all of that._

_I know that she's wrong about that. Other than Chloé and Lila, everyone else in our class appreciates her so much... and those two don't seem to like anyone but themselves, so they don't really count._

_"Have a wonderful day, and I hope that I'll be part of it!"_

_I hope so, too._

_And I hope that if I saw what I think I saw, that Luka treats her right. I'm sure he will. She deserves someone nice like him._

A knock at the door distracted the class. Ms. Mendeleiev sighed loudly. "I _do_ dislike this circus so much... so many pointless interruptions," she grumbled. "Come in."

A group of senior girls entered, scanning the room and perking up when they looked in Adrien's direction. "Adrien Agreste?" one called out.

"Y-yes?" Adrien replied, quite startled.

She held up a red carnation, and the group began singing, "She loves you, yeah, yeah, _yeaaaah,_ she loves you, yeah, yeah, _yeaaaah..."_

* * *

Marinette would've been relieved that Mr. Travers was actively avoiding calling on her today... if she'd had any spare brain cells to devote to that.

_Adrien... _

_...WANTS me? THAT way?_

_I can't... I just can't... it's not possible, but it's right here in black and white!_

_I'm going to see him and he's going to give me that look and I'm just going to crumble. I just know it! I thought I had problems getting the words out _before_!_

A knock at the door jarred her out of her thought process. "Enter," called Mr. Travers.

Three senior boys entered, carrying a handful of red carnations. "Okay," the leader called out. "When we call your name, come on down so we can sing to you. We have one for Mireille Caquet, one for Mylène Haprèle..."

Mylène cooed happily. Marinette turned and gave her a happy smile. "I knew that Ivan would come through," she grinned...

"...And one for Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

_"Urk?"_

Once more, Marinette's brain came to a smooth and graceful stop, like a garbage truck slamming into a brick wall.

* * *

_RED? For ME?_

Adrien stood in front of the class, glowing as red as his carnation while being serenaded, and stumbled back to his seat in something of a daze.

_Chloé wouldn't have sent me a red one, would she? I doubt it; that would be acknowledging that someone else was on her level. But if not her, WHO?_

He opened the card, and his eyes went huge when he read:

* * *

**TO: **Adrien Agreste

**FROM:** Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**COLOR: **Red

**MESSAGE:**

I've been too shy to tell you this, Adrien... but I absolutely adore you. There are so many days that I can't think of anything else when you're around... my brain just shuts down. If I seem tongue-tied and nervous around you... it's not because I don't like you, it's because I'm forcing myself not to throw my arms around you and kiss you until neither of us can think!

Be gentle with me, please... I might deny it at first... but I promise you that if you ask me the right way, I'm yours, if you'll have me.

M.

* * *

For someone accustomed to being in front of cameras, crowds and paparazzi... Adrien Agreste was _sweating_.

_Can this POSSIBLY be real?_

_If it is... my God... it answers so many questions!_

The looks that he'd seen Marinette giving him, before turning away shyly... the shakiness in her manner at times, that only seemed to happen around him... the gifts, the kind words, everything... the sweet message attached to the pink carnation just that morning...

_But something's just not adding up,_ he frowned. _Why would she send me a pink one AND a red one? If she was going to pour her heart out to me and confess her love, why would she stop short of that first?_

_She's told me that she doesn't feel that way about me before. AND she got a red carnation from someone else today already... so there has to be something going on there, right? I can't imagine that anyone would just send an "I love you" message out of the blue._

_But... Marinette just DID!_

_...Or did she?_

_ If she does have some huge secret crush going on... why would she go about it like this?_

_...Why wouldn't she have just _told me_ how she felt?_

_Wow. _

_Now I have _no idea_ what to do..._

* * *

"There has to be some kind of mistake," Marinette ventured in a weak voice, once the verse of "Sugar, Sugar" was complete. "I already got a red one today."

"Aren't you the lucky girl, then..." grinned the lead singer, "because now you've got two!"

Gently, Mylène steered Marinette back up the stairs to her seat. "What is going on?" Mylène asked, in a whisper.

"I don't _know!_" Marinette stammered back. Mylène huddled up next to Marinette as she opened the card, largely ignored by their teacher, who grasped that there would be no more actual learning in this period by the two of them.

With her heart pounding, Marinette read:

* * *

**TO: **Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**FROM:** Adrien Agreste

**COLOR: **Red

**MESSAGE:**

If you're wondering why I've never told you in person... I'm a little unsure, okay?

I've caught you staring at me, but I don't know if you're as crazy about me as I am about you. I've been throwing myself at you for months now, but I can't seem to get your attention that way.

So here's what I'm proposing...

...if you would like to be my best girl and find out what my kisses feel like, you'll find out very soon what you'll need to do!

Be ready...

* * *

"_He's_ been throwing himself at _me?_" boggled Marinette, a little too loudly, her emotions in disarray.

"I... wouldn't go that far. I mean, he really likes you..." Mylène agreed.

"...He does?" Marinette asked, quietly. "Like, _likes_ me?"

"You'd have to ask him that!" backpedaled Mylène. "But you're not just an ordinary friend to him; you haven't been for a long time now. We can all see that. 'Throwing himself at you,' I don't know if I've seen _that_, though. More like a lot of longing glances both ways."

"What... what do you think he means by 'you'll find out very soon?'" wondered Marinette.

Mylène thought for a moment. "I think it means that you have a third one coming. At least," she reasoned. "It seems like he's playing games with you... being _super_ flirty_... _which seems a little strange for Adrien, doesn't it? He's usually open and direct about things, but I've never seen a side of him quite like this."

"It does seem strange," Marinette sighed, "...but this whole day has been _beyond_ strange. Look at the first one he sent... you can't get much more direct than that!"

Marinette passed Mylène the first card, which she read quickly...

"_Whoa_!_" _Mylène gasped. "You're not kidding! That's... do these cards sound like the Adrien _you've_ known, Marinette?"

"No! I mean... I'm not sure. I just don't... I'd, um, always _hoped_ that he'd want to be with me, but... Mylène, what should I _do_?" pleaded Marinette.

"Talk to him, I guess! And, yeah, I know how hard that can be for you, I've been there," smiled Mylène. "But you'll at least want to find out if these really are from Adrien."

"They _have to be_," parried Marinette, desperately, her hands waving. "Who would pull a prank like that, if they weren't from him?"

Mylène looked around the room... and noticed Sabrina in the back row, watching them intently and not looking at all comfortable. When Mylène met her gaze, she turned away immediately.

"I... don't know. But hold it together for now, okay? I want to ask around a little bit," counseled Mylène. "Don't do anything crazy until we talk again?"

"I'll try," Marinette smiled.

* * *

In a bathroom stall down the hall from Ms. Mendeleiev's classroom, a young man sat very still. He hoped that no one else was coming in any time soon, because he needed advice, and his small, floating advisor had to remain a secret.

Plagg re-read the card from the red carnation for the third time. _"Somebody's_ got a _girrrrrrlfriend,"_ he laughed in a singsong voice.

"Stop. _Stop!" _begged Adrien. "Okay, look, I need more than teasing right now. For one thing, I don't know if this is _real_ or not."

"Does Marinette lie to you often?" Plagg drawled. "Doesn't seem to me like she does."

"_She_ doesn't. But do I know that this is really from her?" Adrien wondered. "It's got her name on it, but it just doesn't sound like... I don't know, Plagg, something just seems strange! I think that she likes someone else. From what she got this morning, I'm sure that someone else likes _her_."

"Is it the _same_ someone else?" asked Plagg. "It might be the same old story, you know? You-love-her, but she-loves-him, but he-loves-somebody-else..."

"I just can't win," lamented Adrien. "Look, I've already had Marinette falling for me once before, as Chat Noir, right? That kind of came out of nowhere, too. I think we ended up in a good place that day, and that's great, but part of that was that Marinette and Chat don't see each other that often, so it was easier for us. But I'm around Marinette all the time... and she can be pretty delicate sometimes."

Plagg watched Adrien struggle with his inner thoughts. "If this _is_ real, how can I let her down easy and not hurt her?" he asked.

"Is letting her down easy what you really want to do?" Plagg wondered aloud.

Adrien got a funny look on his face... as if the question hadn't fully crossed his mind until that moment.

* * *

On the way out of the classroom, Sabrina moved quickly with her head down...

...only to run straight into a short, colorfully-coiffed classmate, with her arms crossed.

"_What_ did you do?" Mylène asked, pointedly.

"I... didn't do anything," evaded Sabrina, in a low voice. "I need to get to my locker before my next class, so could you move, please?"

"You know something," insisted Mylène. "Maybe you didn't do it, but you know who did."

"Did what?" Sabrina asked, trying to look innocent.

"Strange things are happening to Marinette with red carnations. They say that they're from Adrien, but we both know who's into him and can't stand her, right? And you can't look me in the eye right now," Mylène declared. "And when you can't give someone as meek as _me _a straight answer..."

Sabrina was silent.

"Look, I don't want a fight, okay?" sighed Mylène. "But I don't want Marinette to get _hurt_ if what's going on isn't real. And I know that Chloé is Chloé and she always will be, and you two are close, but Marinette's never done anything bad to you... has she?"

"Not... really, no," Sabrina admitted. "She doesn't deserve..."

"Deserve _what?"_

Abruptly, Sabrina dashed around Mylène and took off down the hallway. "I don't know, okay?" she called as she ran.

Mylène stood there for a moment, and thought, _I don't like this one bit._

* * *

Marinette had left first, and was motoring down the hallway at high speed towards her own locker.

She stopped short as she turned a corner. At the other end of the hallway, Adrien stopped as well, and the two exchanged a long and questioning look from afar.

_He's got a red carnation!_ thought Marinette. _That might be the one that I messed up... or one from someone else, maybe? __Of course it is,_ she reasoned. _This is ADRIEN. He'll probably go home with half-a-dozen. _And_ if it is from someone else, I waited too long..._

Across the hall, Adrien's thoughts came rapidly to him. _Marinette's got TWO red carnations!_ Adrien realized. _Two from Luka? Or does she have TWO admirers?_

* * *

Marinette's knees went weak... her resolve quivered...

...she forced herself to smile, and give him the smallest little wave...

...and all at once, she was running down the hallway from which she'd come.

_I don't... I don't know what to do yet, Adrien, I'm sorry! _her thoughts screamed_. I need a little more time to think!_

Adrien didn't chase her. Instead, he stared down at the red carnation in his hands, then at the empty hallway... and wondered how to make sense out of any of this.

* * *

Next time:

* "I don't know that I've ever dreaded something wonderful quite so much."

* Chloé's master plan comes into focus.

* "Why are you making that face, all of a sudden?"

* "We're not done with you yet."

* Hunting down the truth, with the clock ticking.

* "She... only has the _one _personality, right? Not a handful?"

* Approaching our finale...


	4. Pistils at Dawn

Chapter 4: Pistils at Dawn

* * *

The bathroom stall was different than the one Adrien had been in... which, to be sure, any other girls who'd walked into that particular women's bathroom would have appreciated... but the soul-searching was much the same.

"Tikki, I just _can't_," Marinette moaned, quietly. "Everything is happening at once and I don't know how to react!"

"Take a breath, Marinette," her Kwami advised her. "I'm not going to yell about getting to class because, well, you need this time right now, okay? Think it out with me. This is... a _good_ thing, isn't it? It's what you've been wanting."

"Y-yeah," Marinette gasped. "I've dreamed of Adrien falling in love with me, sweeping me off my feet, taking me into his arms, and... um..."

"I know, I've heard some of them, and I can guess the rest," Tikki said, then blanched when she saw Marinette's horrified face. "What?" she giggled. "I sleep in the same room as you. You're a growing girl, and sometimes you don't dream silently."

"_That_ is very good information to have before my next sleepover with any of my friends," blushed Marinette. "But, yes, of course I've dreamed of this! But now it's _happening, _or I _think_ it's happening, anyway, but it's so... _intense!_"

"I'll be honest... the messages you showed me have me wondering a little bit, too," replied Tikki. _Even as Chat Noir, he's never been quite THAT aggressive!_ she thought to herself. _He'd rather charm Ladybug than be so blunt about it. _"How can I put this... maybe he's got someone talking in his ear, telling him that if he is interested in you, this is how he should go about it?"

"The thing is, though," Marinette countered, "is that when I met with him after he gave me that pink one... he was so sweet, so gentle, those soft green eyes! That's the Adrien I know and love. I almost thought... that he was going to ask me out... and then, ten seconds later, the singing started and he was gone once it was over, and I had that 'I want you' message in my hand! Shifting gears from soft and gentle to aggressive like that? It doesn't add up."

She looked intently at Tikki, who was glad to see Marinette once again capable of critical thinking. "If that was a declaration of love, and he wanted me to respond to it... why wouldn't he have stayed to watch me read the card?" Marinette asked.

"A very good question," Tikki agreed.

"But then, that second one..." pondered Marinette, "it sounded like _he_ wasn't so sure that _I_ liked _him _that way. Like, he didn't want to be embarrassed if I read his card and just laughed at it. As if I would ever...!"

"Maybe the third one will clear it up? If that's what he meant by 'you'll find out very soon,'" Tikki counseled. "Just keep a clear head, okay? You need to figure this out."

"I know," Marinette whimpered. "I don't know that I've ever dreaded something wonderful quite so much."

* * *

Adrien stumbled into his World History class, looking a bit distracted. Alix smiled at him as he entered, then smirked when she saw what he was holding.

"She finally gotcha, huh?" she asked. "About time."

"Finally?" repeated Adrien. "I'm... uh... what do you mean by that?"

"Ooh, maybe I spoke too soon," Alix worried. "Who sent you the flower?"

"It says that it's from Marinette," Adrien replied. "But I'm not completely sure."

"Come again?"

Quickly, Adrien described the contents of the card...

"Let me see that!" Alix asked, and he handed it to her, reluctantly. As she scanned it, he relayed how he'd seen Marinette with _two_ red carnations... and neither of them had been sent by him.

"Huh! Good for her," she smiled. "I mean, I don't know if that's good for _you_ or not..."

"Does what's on that card sound... familiar to you, Alix?" wondered Adrien. "Does she talk about me like this?"

"I don't want to say," Alix parried. "Because if she does, it's not for me to tell you, and if she doesn't, I don't want to put the wrong words in her mouth, right? Though if what's on this card _is_ for real, you'd better take your vitamins if it's what you want."

"By the way, is it?" she grinned, gathering intel for her friend.

* * *

Alya was just about to enter her next class when she heard her name being called. Huffing and puffing, Mylène pulled up beside her.

"Have you talked to Marinette since first period?" Mylène gasped, catching her breath.

"I haven't. Last I saw her, she was about to go out to talk to Adrien in the hallway, and he was making eyes at her," smiled Alya. "Finally!"

"He might've done more than that. Or he might not have," said Mylène.

Mylène described the carnations Marinette had received so far... and Marinette's reaction. Alya's face went from delighted to concerned rapidly.

"Seems strange to you?" Mylène asked.

"Very. I mean, he likes her, I'm _sure _that he does, he just doesn't admit it out loud..." reasoned Alya. "But if he was going to go all dramatic like that, I can't imagine that he wouldn't have told Nino. And that would mean that _I_ would know about it, 'cause Nino can't hide anything from me."

"It's almost as if people are sending flowers with other people's names on them," grumbled Mylène. "Which would be a really sleazy thing to do... um, why are you making that face, all of a sudden?"

"Oh! Nothing, nothing," Alya stammered.

"All right, I need to get to _my_ next class. But find out what you can, okay?" Mylène requested, then took off running at Alya's nod.

_Hmmm. I can't text-message Marinette in class, or she might get her phone taken away,_ Alya thought. _Maybe someone is pulling a fast one... I mean, not like what _I_ did; everything that _I_ wrote was absolutely true. This does sound more like someone trying to start something bad._

_Probably not too hard to guess who. But what is she up to now?_

* * *

As Adrien left class, he heard a voice calling his name... a male voice, this time.

He turned to see Luka approaching him, a smile on his face, one that didn't diminish when he saw Adrien carrying a red flower.

"Hey! I was hoping that I'd run into you," Luka began. "I was wondering... do you know where I can find Marinette later today, like, what room she's got afternoon classes in?"

Adrien thought for a moment. "I think that she's back in Ms. Bustier's room after lunch. I don't have her schedule memorized, or anything like that, but... What's up?" he replied.

"Nothing major. I wanted to thank her for this..." Luka held up a pink carnation, and continued, "...and I have one just like it to give her."

That stopped Adrien for a moment. "You have one to give to her?" he wondered.

"Yeah. Rather than let the seniors deliver it, I had it sent to _me_ instead, so that I can hand it to her in person," grinned Luka.

"Huh. That's... actually... pretty darn smooth," admired Adrien. "I'll remember that one."

"I'm no Don Juan, but I've had a little practice," said Luka. "You should hang out with me more often; I can teach you a few little things like that."

Adrien's smile faded back into puzzlement. "...Wait. Didn't you send a red one to Marinette already?" he asked Luka. "At _least_ one?"

Luka's face grew more serious, as well. "No, I didn't. It's cool that someone did, but it wasn't me. Why, did one have my name on it or something?"

Adrien gave him a quick rundown of having watched Marinette take delivery of one red, then having seen her with a second, and showed him the one that he'd received. "I'm not sure if this really is from her, though," Adrien explained, "and now I have no idea who sent the reds that _she_ got._"_

Luka whistled in appreciation. "Adrien, you might just be one _very_ lucky guy," he noted. "But you have my word; the red ones she's holding aren't from me. I think the world of her, but we're not... near there yet. I don't push hard with girls unless I'm sure that it's what _they_ want. And the one that she sent _me_ was pink, not red, just like yours."

He took in Adrien's silence and continued, "...Maybe you and I ought to talk sometime, huh? But for now, I need to get moving. I'll look for her after lunch. But go figure this out, for her sake, okay?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that," Adrien said quietly, as Luka left.

_This is... beyond bizarre now,_ Adrien thought. _Marinette's never talked about having a boyfriend that I know of... and the only boys I've known were into her were Nino, Luka, and, well, Evillustrator! And now I know that her carnations didn't come from any of THEM. Well, the first two, anyway, and I'd like to think that Nathaniel hasn't seen any butterflies lately._

_Is there someone new out there who's into Marinette? Or is someone messing with BOTH of us?_

Unconsciously, his fist clenched. _If someone IS playing with Marinette's heart, they're in a world of trouble..._

* * *

Sabrina looked around her, rather nervously, and saw no one pursuing her. _Whew,_ she sighed. _I don't like what Chloé's doing, and I don't want to get any more involved in it. Which means that the less I talk to any of Marinette's friends today, the better off I'll be..._

She headed for her Advanced Algebra class as invisibly as she could. Three steps from the door, she breathed a silent sigh of relief...

"_Urk!_"

A hand on the back of her collar ended her sense of ease abruptly. "Hey! Let _go_ of me!" she squealed.

"Not until you tell us what's going on," said an angry voice. Sabrina turned her head and saw Mylène and Alix behind her, with Alix holding her in place.

"We've just compared notes," Mylène growled, "and it's not a pretty picture. Someone's messing with Adrien _and_ with Marinette. And _you_ know who and why."

"I'm going to be _late to class!"_ Sabrina whimpered.

"Great! Then we'll all be in detention together, and we can spend a lot of nice, quiet time, side-by-side, _talking_ about this. You'd like that, right?" grinned Alix, menacingly.

_"Fine,_" Sabrina sighed, in defeat. "It's not like you haven't figured it out. Chloé got mad at something Marinette said, so she's taking it out on her, setting something up. I don't like it, either."

"I _knew_ it,_" _Mylène crowed.

"Now you know. Can I go now?" moaned Sabrina.

"For now, but you'd better be standing right here when class is over! We're not done with you yet," declared Alix.

* * *

In her last class before lunch, Marinette sat anxiously, fiddling with her pen. There were some familiar faces in this class, but no one that she felt entirely comfortable confiding in.

_It's coming,_ she thought. _I know it is. _

_It might be terrifying. It might be wonderful! Maybe a bit of each._

_But it's _nerve-wracking_ sitting here waiting for it to happen._

_Would Adrien really put me through this kind of crazy rollercoaster ride?_

* * *

Nino smiled at Adrien as his friend walked into their Geometry class... then noticed that Adrien looked less than thrilled to be there.

"Hey, what's up?" called Nino. "For someone who's popular today, you don't seem too happy about it."

"That's just it. I'm not sure if I am or not, and I think someone's messing with me. _And_ with Marinette," Adrien grumbled, "which is the _wrong_ thing to do."

"Oh, really..." mumbled Nino, with some nervousness. _Alya, I warned you..._ he thought. "What's going on?"

Adrien showed him the card from his pink carnation, then from his red one.

"Okay, the _pink_ one I definitely believe is from her. That so sounds like her," Nino began.

"Absolutely. We were talking about what we'd sent each other when her first red one arrived. Now she's got two, I've got one, and..."

A loud knock at the door announced that further chaos had arrived.

* * *

The door to Marinette's classroom opened, and Marinette suppressed the urge to stand up even before they called her name.

"Hello there!" called the leader of the singing quartet. "We need, let's see... Jean Duparc, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and Aurore Beauréal?"

As she descended to the front of the room, Marinette felt herself turning red, and mumbled, "I don't understand this, either," to whoever happened to be nearby.

She burned with embarrassment through their chorus of "Just The Way You Are," accepted the carnation, and ran back up to her seat. The folded-up card in her hands taunted her. _Go ahead, open me,_ it seemed to tell her. _Learn your fate._

And when she did...

* * *

In Adrien's classroom, a group of senior girls entered, giggling amongst themselves.

"Hello... we have a _very_ popular person here today! We have carnations for... Adrien Agreste, Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste and Adrien Agreste."

_"Wh-hat?"_

Adrien looked as if he'd just swallowed a frog with spikes sticking out of it.

* * *

Marinette read:

**TO:** Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**FROM:** Adrien Agreste

**COLOR: ** Red

**MESSAGE:**

Sweet Marinette,

I can't bear hiding this any longer - and I hope that neither can you.

When you walk into the cafeteria at lunch, I'll be standing up at the front of the room, waiting for you. If you feel the same way that I do, if you're burning for us to be together... join me there, let me take your hands in mine, and let it burst out of you. Tell the world that you love me, how you love me, loud and unafraid, and I'll do the same!

If I don't see you come up there... if you walk on by and sit down somewhere... I'll know that we're meant to just be friends forever. I'll try to understand, I promise.

But if I _do_...

Little hearts accompanied a cursive "Adrien."

* * *

Adrien scanned his cards, frantically. With a pale face, he turned to Nino and said, "Can I ask you a question? You've known Marinette a lot longer than I have."

"S-sure," Nino managed.

"She... only has the _one _personality, right? Not a handful?"

Without a word, Adrien passed over the first red carnation from this batch:

* * *

**TO:** Adrien Agreste

**FROM: **Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**COLOR: ** Red

**MESSAGE:**

Dearest Adrien,

There's something that I _really_ need to tell you - something that's been burning inside of me forever, something I need to announce to the world. This is _so important_ to me, and I hope it will be to you, too!

When you get to the cafeteria for lunch today - get there as fast as you can - wait for me at the front of the room, if you want to hear what I have to say. When I come up to you, take my hands in yours... and you'll find out something very, very special.

Marinette

* * *

Nino scratched his head. "So, she confessed her love to you... and now she needs to confess it to you, because you didn't know about it?" he wondered.

"I talked it out with Alix last period, and she was suspicious, too. This just confirms it; at least one of these is a fake," frowned Adrien.

"I, uh, agree," Nino said. "At least one of those _isn't_ from Marinette, I know that for sure. But I don't know which one it is!"

"Well, I guess I have one way to find out," shrugged Adrien. "If I go up to the front of the cafeteria and she comes up there to join me, that one's real. If she doesn't, maybe the other one is."

"Dude," cautioned Nino. "Be gentle with her, okay? I feel like there's a lot more going on around here, but I don't know what."

"I will, I will," Adrien replied. "I'd never hurt her on purpose."

* * *

From two rows in back of them, Chloé suppressed the urge to cackle loudly, eavesdropping on their conversation.

_Oh, this is going to be SO much fun to watch! _she laughed to herself.

_Adrien will be up there waiting for Dupain-Cheng, and she's going to run right up there and blab out her stupid crush right in front of everybody, thinking that he'll be standing there wanting to hear it! She'll probably stutter and stammer, and mispronounce his name at least three times, and shoot blood out of both ears trying to tell him._

_And he's going to freak out - of COURSE he is, who wouldn't? Everybody KNOWS he'd never fall for someone like HER - and she'll be SO CRUSHED that she'll go stick her head right into a bin of mashed potatoes. _

_And I will LAUGH and LAUGH and LAUGH, 'cause I'll have a front-row seat!_

* * *

"What about the other two?" asked Nino. "Are those from Marinette, too?"

"No, they're not," Adrien said. "One of them surprises me a little, but, well, whatever..."

* * *

**TO:** Adrien Agreste

**FROM: **Chloé Bourgeois

**COLOR: **Red

**MESSAGE:**

From your _perfect_ match!

* * *

"...and the other one is... blank," wondered Adrien. "It has my name on it, but there's no sender or message on the card."

"Huh. I wonder what that's all about?" said Nino, equally curious.

"I'll have to figure it out later. The Marinette issue comes first," Adrien replied, solemnly. "When class ends, I'll get over there quickly and, well... see what happens, I guess!"

Nino frowned again. "Just... be careful, okay?" he repeated. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

* * *

The end-of-class bell rang... and Adrien took off running.

"Good luck!" called Nino, just as his phone started buzzing.

He looked down at his incoming text messages...

**[Alya] Get over to Mendeleiev's classroom NOW! Something weird is going on.**

Obediently, he grabbed his books and started moving.

* * *

Sabrina stepped outside of her classroom and let out a loud, uneasy squeak. A semicircle of young women was waiting for her, and none of them looked happy.

"I... I would say that I could explain, but I really can't," ventured Sabrina.

"You can and you're going to," declared Mylène. "Or you know whom we'll turn you over to."

"Alix, you wouldn't beat me up, would you?" begged Sabrina. "I'm not the one who did this."

"It's not me you should be worried about," Alix smirked, nudging her head to her left... where Rose stood, with fire in her eyes and fury on her face.

"Betraying true love is not a very healthy thing to do around here," suggested Juleka. "I'd 'fess up if I were you."

"Okay, okay! It's too late, anyway. All four of them have been delivered by now," Sabrina confessed.

As she described Chloé's actions, Nino came running up and joined them a few moments later. "I think we have a problem," he told Alya.

"You _think?"_ agreed Alya. "Sabrina is telling us how Marinette's been getting red carnations, faked to be from Adrien all day long. Something about meeting him in the cafeteria..."

Nino looked beyond startled. "That's where Adrien is headed _now_. One of the ones he just got said for him to meet her there, so she could confess in front of everyone!"

"So he's going to be standing there, waiting for her, and she has no idea that she's being set up like this..." stammered Alya, as the pieces came together. She grabbed her phone and started texting frantically.

"Anything?" worried Mylène.

"...No! She's not answering her phone. She's probably barely aware that she even has one right now," Alya panicked.

"So what are you waiting for? Go! Let's get over there and stop this!" Sabrina declared.

Heads turned in her direction.

"I'll apologize to her later, I promise. But this just isn't _ri__ght._ Don't look at me, _run!" _she added, and with that the group took off at high speed.

* * *

With her heart pounding, Marinette Dupain-Cheng stepped through the doors of the cafeteria...

At the front of the room, standing there by himself, waiting for her... was the boy of her dreams. Adrien Agreste stood there, looking nervous, perking up when he saw her enter.

_Oh... my... GOD..._

_...it's all real!_ she thought, her brain overloading, rationality taking an abrupt vacation. _If he hadn't written those messages, he wouldn't know to be standing there right now!_

_And that means..._

_That means I know what I HAVE TO DO... right now... in front of all these people..._

_Come on, Marinette, you can DO THIS... it's now or never!_

* * *

Adrien Agreste paced slowly at the front of the cafeteria, his own pulse racing.

_The first carnation sounded more like... well, I'm not sure that_ _EITHER __sounded like the Marinette I thought I knew,_ he reasoned. _But the first one was closer to her, I think. But which one was the real one? If either of them was?_

The doors to the cafeteria opened... and there she was. Blue eyes, dark hair, pigtails, a face that he could never forget... and a sparkle in her eyes once she saw him waiting there.

As she walked towards him, each step echoed like a thunderclap in his brain. _Oh, wow,_ he thought. _It's the second one! Just like it said! She's coming up here, and she wants __to do this in front of the whole world!_

_Should I stop her?_

_What am I going to say?_

_What is SHE going to say?_

_Here she comes!_

* * *

The two came together at the front of the room, a step apart. Both faces were flushed, both looked very nervous. Adrien noticed Marinette shaking a little bit.

Without a word, he came to a decision... and reached both hands out towards her.

_If this is what she wants..._ _I need to listen._

Without a word, she placed her hands in his.

_If this is what he wants... I need to be brave._

Their eyes met and locked onto each other.

Not far from the two of them, Chloé Bourgeois leaned forward, an eager look on her face.

* * *

Marinette took a very deep breath...

* * *

Next time:

* Oh, you _know _what comes next. ;)


	5. Take It or Leaf It

Chapter 5: Take It or Leaf It

* * *

_Marinette..._

_Marinette, your mouth is open. Shouldn't sound be coming out of it?_

She closed her eyes for a moment, frustration seizing her, then opened them again. Adrien's green eyes were focused on hers, soft and unthreatening and perfect.

_This is the moment of truth, _Marinette thought_. Three red carnations for me, when I didn't even have the nerve to sign my ONE for him. The third one said that he'd be up here waiting for me, reaching out to me, dying to hear me tell the world how much I love him._

_And here he is._

_Here WE are._

_This is real._

She stared intently at Adrien, pleading with her eyes. _Show me, my love. Show me how much you're feeling this moment inside. Give me the courage that I need._

* * *

Adrien watched Marinette waver, ever so slightly, hovering on the edge of something momentous.

_That's what she'd promised this moment would be. Very, very special. Something that had been burning inside her. Something that the whole world needs to know. And it involves me._

_She said that if she found me here, if I waited for her, if I took her hands in mine, she'd tell me what it is. _

_And here she is._

_Here WE are._

_She's struggling with it, whatever it is. I'm not sure just what it is that she needs to get out... but I need to be here for her. _

His eyes searched hers. _Those beautiful blue eyes,_ he thought. _So much like Ladybug's. And the sweetest person behind them._

_I'm here for you, Marinette, no matter what. What can I do to help?_

* * *

"Adrien... there's something that I need to tell you," Marinette began. "Things that I read today... inspired me. There were words there that I never thought I'd see... but there they were. And I need to respond to them... I need to tell you something very important... and tell _everyone."_

She turned her head to the tables closest to them, seeing a double-handful of students settling down to eat, Chloé among them. "May I have your attention for a moment?" she called, which caused several of them to turn their heads in her direction. "There's something that I need to say out loud about the boy next to me. Something that I don't want to hide any longer."

Marinette turned back to Adrien, giving him a small smile, watching his face one more time, looking for his reaction.

* * *

Adrien heard Marinette's words and swallowed hard.

_I'm still not completely sure where this is going,_ he thought. _ The card that was all lovey-dovey, the "I've been secretly in love with you" card... that was the fake. It has to be; Nino said one of them was faked, and everything in the other one has lined up perfectly!_

_So if she's not confessing that to me right now... and I'm not all the way sure what I'd do if she DID... what's about to happen here?_

* * *

Each of them studied the other's face, their hands clasped together, their minds running on overdrive.

Each thought very hard about what they knew about each other, things that they had said, times they had spent together, the good and the bad, all of the shocks that this day had brought.

Marinette reached out with everything inside her to Adrien, and Adrien to Marinette. And they both reached the same conclusion...

_They're not eager right now, they're not hopeful, they're not excited..._

_...They're SCARED!_

* * *

"W-wait!" Marinette and Adrien both blurted out, nearly simultaneously.

There was a long pause.

Chloé caught her breath, nearby. A couple of the other students gave them an annoyed look, as if to ask, _Well? What is it?_

"O-okay. Adrien... I need to say something _else_ first. M-may I?" Marinette managed, to which Adrien nodded nervously.

"I know that what I'm about to say... it's something very important to you. You made that very clear in the cards that came with your carnations," she began. "But I know you, Adrien. I like to think that I know you very well..."

The words "your carnations" registered with Adrien, and Marinette read the confusion on his face accurately. _I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT! _her brain shouted. _It was_ _too good to be true!_

"...And I can't believe that if you truly meant what you wrote in those messages, if you know me like you think you do... that this is is how you'd want us to do it," Marinette said, quietly. "It just doesn't seem like you, Adrien."

"That's... because I'm not sure what those messages were, Marinette," Adrien said, picking his words extremely carefully. "I want you to know that I'm here, and I'm listening, okay? I'm ready if you are. But if you're not comfortable saying what this is about here and now, we can go somewhere private, or we can wait for another time..."

"And _that's_ the Adrien I know," Marinette smiled. "I have to ask... did you send me _any_ red carnations, Adrien, let alone three?"

"I didn't. Are you saying that those have MY name on them?" boggled Adrien.

"I am."

"Marinette... I have two red carnations here with _your_ name on them. Did either of them come from you?" he asked.

It was Marinette's turn to look like a deer in headlights. "N-no..." she gasped. "Not with my name on them."

They stared at each other, wordlessly...

Both of them laughed, a hard, tension-shattering laugh...

_"W-WAIT!"_

* * *

Thundering feet presaged the imminent arrival of a sprinting group of friends, with Sabrina right behind them.

"Wait! Don't do it!" shouted Mylène, at the head of the pack. To her mild astonishment, she saw the two of them standing together, hand-in-hand... looking fairly _relaxed?_

"Which one of us are you yelling that to?" called Marinette, with a smile.

"_Both!_" answered Alix, frantically. "Someone's screwing you both over, and we know who it is!"

"And what a surprise... she's here, watching her handiwork up close," Mylène snarled, seeing a familiar blonde head at a nearby table.

The group closed in on Marinette and Adrien and caught their breath. Chloé stared at Sabrina, _What are YOU doing with them?_ raging in her eyes, then scoffed loudly.

_"I'm_ just here to enjoy my lunch," she drawled, smugly. "Or at least I was about to, until you interrupted things."

Adrien squeezed Marinette's hand gently, giving her a slight and unexpected thrill. "This is way too crazy... Come on over here, and let's compare what we received, okay? Let's see what we can figure out."

"I'd like that very much," smiled Marinette. "And thank you for stopping me. I just came pretty close to... something I wasn't ready for."

The pair sat down at a table across from Chloé's, spreading their carnations out, and their friends gathered around them. The students at other tables turned back to their lunches, seeing that there wasn't to be a floor show after all. Chloé waited for Sabrina to join her... but she didn't come, preferring to stand alone a short distance away.

* * *

"All right, let's start with what we do know. I sent you this one, Adrien," Marinette said, pointing to his pink carnation, "and you sent me mine, right?"

"I sure did! And I assure you that I meant every word of it," Adrien beamed.

"Good. That much is right with the world," she grinned. "Now... one at a time, I got _these_ three today... all of which were supposedly from you. Take a look at the cards, please?"

Adrien's face told Marinette everything she needed to know about them. "Oh... my... I would _never have _made you... well, not like _this_... _Marinette?"_

He looked up at her, helplessly. "You spent all day getting these... thinking that I was pushing you really hard to do _this?"_

Her smile was reassuring. "Maybe... just a little bit?" Marinette admitted. "It didn't seem like you... but I was too overwhelmed to think straight for a while there, and when I came in here and you were waiting for me, just like the third card said... it seemed like maybe they _were _true after all."

"That's because I got _this_ one_..._" Adrien explained, passing that card across to Marinette. "Which told me to be here, to wait for you and to listen to what you had to tell me... and when _you_ showed up and came right over..."

"Oh-ho-ho-_ho_, very clever_," _admired Marinette. "And this one has the same handwriting as those three, doesn't it?"

"It sure does." Adrien looked up at their friends, surrounding them. "And I'll bet that they've got some insight as to whose handwriting that is... as if I didn't know."

All heads turned towards Chloé Bourgeois.

* * *

"Fine!" Chloé crowed. "I'll take credit, if I must! Best idea I've had in months. Two Euros for four flowers, and I had _so much_ entertainment all morning long!"

Juleka's hand on the back of Rose's blouse kept her from charging at Chloé.

"It's your own fault, Dupain-Cheng. You were _so rude_ to me in line, I had to do something!" Chloé sniffed. "First you held up the line, taking forever to write out your little love poem or _whatever_, then accusing me of buying my own flowers?"

"Why not? You did," snapped Sabrina.

As if at a tennis match, the heads collectively whipped from Chloé to Sabrina. A low "Ohhhhhh...!" was heard.

"You are crossing a _line_ here, Sabrina," snarled Chloé.

_"You_ crossed that line. I've helped you pull pranks and do a lot of stupid things... but this was simply _cruel,_" Sabrina stated, flatly. "And I'm ashamed that I didn't come forward with what I knew until they made me do it."

"And that brings me to _this_ carnation_," _interrupted Adrien, standing up with a red flower in his hand. "This had a very simple message on it: From Chloé Bourgeois, 'From your perfect match.'"

He looked over at Chloé, who remained impassive.

"So this is going where _it _belongs," he shrugged. With a smooth motion, he hurled it away, banking it off the wall and bouncing it straight into a large grey trash can.

* * *

"Fine! Go right ahead, take her side... utterly _ridiculous_," Chloé muttered. "You'll come back eventually. You always do."

A coldness came over Adrien's face, an anger the likes of which no one there had ever seen from him. "That white one that you got from me, Chloé? Throw it out on your way out," he told her. "Because you and I are _done_ as friends."

"Oh, I'm _so sure-"_

_"Chloé... Close your mouth,_" Adrien commanded her, his voice ringing.

Everyone froze... but especially Chloé.

He walked over to her and leaned in close. "Understand this," Adrien intoned. "You and I have known each other for a very long time. We didn't ask to be friends; we just were. We were two kids thrown together because of who our parents were. And I put up with a lot from you because I couldn't disappoint my father... but there were many other times that you really _did try _to be a friend. When you did reach out. When you weren't Chloé Bourgeois, Aspiring Diva of Paris, but a real person."

"But someone who could be _this_ petty, _this_ nasty, _this hurtful_ to someone that I truly care about? I don't care what brought it on; that's not the person I knew. And it's not a person that I want to know."

"Adrien... I... but she said to me..." stammered Chloé.

"I. Don't. CARE," Adrien cut her off. "I'm done making excuses for you. You've burned that bridge, and I hope that you're proud of yourself."

"You _cannot be seriously _picking _Dupain-Cheng_ over _ME!" _gasped Chloé, desperately.

"If I did... if I _do_... it'd be the easiest choice I'd ever make," Adrien smiled, coldly, then turned his back on her and walked away.

Chloé sputtered something incoherent, then looked around the room, searching for anyone who might count as an ally. None were visible. Cold stares came in return, along with an evil grin from Alix, who added, "You should be running."

Scooping up her belongings, Chloé searched for one last zinger to drop; not finding it, she left the cafeteria in a hurry.

* * *

Marinette watched Adrien return to his seat, with a slightly awestruck look on her face. His impassioned defense of her and _Someone that I truly care about_ hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Well... um... I suppose that these should go in the trash bin as well," she said, gesturing to her three red carnations. "But I think I have somewhere better for them."

She stood up, picking the carnations up, and presented one each to Mylène, Alix and Rose. "It's wonderful to know that I have such good friends who have our backs," she grinned. "You two were right there for us when we needed you," she told Alix and Mylène, "and I think Rose needs this to keep from taking Chloé's head off her shoulders."

"Oh!" Rose beamed. "Marinette, you don't have to... that's so sweet of you," she cooed, and her soft-spoken self returned quickly, drawing some light laughter from the group.

"I mean this... nobody, like, beat her up in the parking lot, okay? I kind of think she lost more than she knows today already," soothed Marinette.

"And I meant every word of _that_," Adrien said, quietly. "There are things that can't be undone."

"My hero," smiled Marinette, with soft eyes.

"Now... Marinette, I have to ask you about this other one I got," ventured Adrien, cautiously. "This one wasn't part of Chloé's prank, as far as I know. It has different handwriting. Sabrina?"

Sabrina nodded. "I saw her fill out five of them. One real one to you, if anything she does is ever real... one fake one to you, and three fake ones to Marinette. I don't know anything about those other two reds you have."

"Could... I'm not sure I should ask this of you... no, I won't," evaded Adrien. "I'll just toss it."

"Adrien... what is it?" Marinette asked, holding him back gently. "What does the other one say?"

"This was the first one I got after we'd talked this morning. And it had me... well, just read it," Adrien managed. He passed it to her, clearly reluctant, his own face reddening.

* * *

Alya watched Marinette pick up the card and read it silently, Marinette's eyes bugging out in utter shock.

_Come on, girl,_ she thought to herself. _I shouldn't have done what I did, I know I shouldn't have, _but I set you up so perfectly!_ You just heard how much Adrien really cares about you. You haven't been able to tell him your feelings all year. Well, they're right there in the open now!_

_Please... you can do this, Marinette,_ begged Alya, trying hard to project those thoughts to her without saying them out loud. Nino gave her an uncomfortable look and stepped back slightly, which she didn't notice in the moment.

_There may never be a better time than this! He's YOURS if you just reach out now!_

* * *

With disbelief on her face, Marinette read the card again, this time aloud in a quiet voice:

"I've been too shy to tell you this, Adrien... but I absolutely adore you. There are so many days that I can't think of anything else when you're around... my brain just shuts down. If I seem tongue-tied and nervous around you... it's not because I don't like you, it's because I'm forcing myself not to throw my arms around you and kiss you until neither of us can think!

Be gentle with me, please... I might deny it at first... but I promise you that if you ask me the right way, I'm yours, if you'll have me."

* * *

Marinette closed her eyes, sinking into deep thought.

_Alya... I am going to STAB YOU! _came to her mind first. _I know that you meant well, but this is... this is nearly as bad as what Chloé did. Worse, in a lot of ways! _

She reopened her eyes and gave it a third reading, silently this time. _Though I have to admit... if I wanted to put my feelings into words and explain how I've behaved all year... you did a good job. What you wrote was SO WRONG... but it wasn't a lie. At all._

Her eyes flickered over to Adrien... who was, all of a sudden, looking far more unsure of himself than he had just a minute before.

"I know what you'd told me once before, Marinette," he said, low enough to be not far above a whisper. "That you weren't crushing on me, that you were just really into fashion, that you liked being close with me but you didn't have feelings like that. But I'd be lying if what was there on that card didn't... well... resonate with me at least a little."

The look Adrien was giving her made Marinette melt inside. "Marinette... _did _you write this card?" he asked her.

_I've actually said the words out loud now_, Marinette shivered, _though I was basically reading them from a script! _She gazed at him once more, struggling within herself as to how to react.

Alya held her breath...

* * *

"No, Adrien, I didn't," Marinette breathed. "The words are beautiful, I have to admit... but I didn't write them. I have to be honest with you about that."

She watched his face very carefully... and couldn't tell if there was disappointment there mixed in with the acknowledgment and relief.

"I think that I know who _did_ write it," Marinette added in a sharper tone, "and she and I will have _lots_ to talk about, once I decide that I'll be speaking to her again."

The group stared at each other, looking confused... until Alya raised her hand, with her head down.

"Guilty as charged," she admitted.

* * *

Adrien looked astonished, then angry once more. "_You?_" he gasped.

"Yeah. That one was my fault. Nino tried to stop me," Alya stammered. "It was wrong of me to do, I know it was."

"I probably could've expected something like this from Chloé... but from _you? _Someone who's so close with Marinette?" Adrien glared, barely believing it. "Why on _earth_ would you do this to your friend? Why would you lie about her like this, put her on the spot like this?"

Alya closed her eyes, knowing that she was trapped. _I can't just say "because that's how she really feels and you haven't noticed it, you big dummy," because that would violate her trust AGAIN! _She shook her head, remaining silent.

Adrien looked back and forth between Alya and Marinette, hoping that Marinette would give him some cue as to how to handle Alya's betrayal. Marinette simply closed her own eyes and turned away from both of them.

"Tell me! What were you _thinking_, Alya? Why would... you..."

Adrien's words faltered somewhat.

_She wouldn't have wanted to hurt Marinette like Chloé did. I know that much,_ he reasoned. _But why else would she have faked a card like that? Writing out something soft and sweet and romantic and..._

_...and..._

_...whoa._

_Marinette said she came pretty close to... "something she wasn't ready for."_

_What did she mean by that?_

He scanned the two of them again, looking for some hidden clue that would explain things more fully. Their other friends stood quietly, trying not to react more than was called for.

_Chloé was being mean and vindictive. Alya... clearly wasn't. So why would she put THOSE words into Marinette's mouth, and not be able to explain why she did? Unless..._

_Marinette can barely look at me right now, after saying those words aloud...  
_

_She read those cards. She thought I was in love with her. That I needed her to tell me and the world that she wanted to be much more than friends._

_And knowing that, she came up here... to say that..._

The truth smacked his brain across the mouth.

_...There's something genuine there!_

* * *

Alya withered under the stares she got from her other friends, knowing how much they were deserved.

"Not cool. NOT cool," muttered Alix. Mylène's jaw dropped, her eyes screaming _Do I even KNOW you any more?_

"I know, I know!" Alya gasped. "We will all talk about this later, _I promise_, but not right here, okay? Especially you and I, Marinette. You have to know how sorry I am."

"Not now, Alya. Not today. I'll let you know when," Marinette managed.

Adrien cringed, and decided to change the subject as best he could. "There is one last mystery," he noted. "I got this one other red carnation... but I have no idea who it was from. It's addressed to me, but there's no name and no message."

He looked around the group, giving Alya a prolonged stare. "Do any of you know who could have sent it?"

Sabrina made as if to say something, then held it back, unwilling to stick her neck out. The others looked confused...

* * *

"I know... because _I_ sent it."

* * *

The smallest of voices spoke up, pitched just loud enough to reach Adrien's ears. He turned, startled... and saw Marinette blushing redder than he'd ever seen another human being blush.

"You did?" Adrien half-whispered.

"Yeah, I did," Marinette breathed, tuning out the gasps among her friends. "And that one's not a fake. I meant to."

"Why didn't you sign it, then?" asked Adrien, gently. "So I would've known that it was from you?"

"Chloé and Sabrina were kind of rushing me in line, and I had to meet Alya in a hurry, and I ran out of time, and I... I kind of just couldn't find the right words," admitted Marinette. "I tried so hard to put... a bunch of things... together into words and nothing seemed quite right and I didn't get anything down on paper. And I ran off, and I guess the girl put it on the order pile as it was."

She looked up at him, helplessly, the words spilling out of her. "I'm not very good at signing things. Like flower cards... or Valentines..."

"Or other things that I could name," added Alya.

"But you _won't,"_ squirmed Marinette. "I'm digging enough of a hole on my own right now, thank you."

"You're really not," said Adrien.

She watched a soft smile form on his face, and dared to hope.

"Now that I know that this is from you, Marinette..." he began, "I know that I'll be keeping this one. And I have this other red carnation with your name on it, even though you weren't who sent it..."

Her hand shook slightly as Adrien leaned over and placed the red carnation into it. "So I want you to have _one_ red one today from someone who really means it."

* * *

Marinette's whole world shook like her hand had shaken.

"Are you sure?" she asked, giving him an out if he needed it. "You don't _have_ to. I love the pink one that you gave me already."

"I'm positive," smiled Adrien. "We can figure out... what it means... later, just between us, okay? But do you remember this morning, when you told me you were worried about whether you should go past white, if you and I were there yet?"

"Uh-huh," Marinette said.

"I know that you're well past pink in my eyes, Marinette," Adrien told her. "No doubt of that at all."

* * *

The two of them leaned into a long hug, to the cheers of their friends.

"Okay," Alix quipped, once the pair managed to let go of each other. "Does anyone know of any _more_ carnations lined up? I think we've all had enough excitement for one day."

She looked around, and when no one mentioned that they did, she added, "Good! 'Cause it's lunchtime and I'm hungry, I don't know about you all..."

That got a round of laughter, and with the crisis past, the group split off to the various lunch lines and to give Marinette and Adrien a little much-needed privacy.

* * *

On the way to her next class, Marinette heard Tikki rustle up to the top of her purse. "Your carnation matches your cheeks," Tikki giggled.

"Can you blame me?" Marinette giggled back. "My dream finally came true! Well... _kind of_ my dream. I don't know what I'd have to eat before bedtime to have dreams quite like how _today_ went."

"I'll say... it was quite a ride. What do you think you're going to do about Alya?" wondered Tikki.

"Oh... I'll make her squirm for a while. I am _not happy_ with what she did, even though I kind of understand why," said Marinette. "She's had her hand on my back so many times, shoving me towards Adrien, and this was just a more... _direct_ way of that. We'll be friends again, I'm sure, but there will be some groveling-because-she-understands-what-she-did first."

"But I'm in too good of a mood to dwell on that right now," she smiled. "I finally got my secret feelings out to Adrien... the hard way... but it happened, and he has some feelings for me, too! It's a great start, and I can't wait to see where it goes."

Marinette gestured to the red carnation Adrien had given her, tucked into the corner of her purse. "And _this_ time around... I'm ready for the whole world to see it."

* * *

~fin~

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Thank you for riding along with me through yet another quick fluff-fest! This idea came up in conversation with some fellow authors, and I figured I could do something cute with it. I might just have had something similar happen once upon a time in my own school days, too! (Thirty years ago, but it still counts.)

My apologies to those who have an accurate grasp on the French school system and its structure, because I do not. Françoise Dupont High School was undeniably Americanized in this story, from grade levels to class structure and student movement, because that's what I know. Given that the English dub paints it as "High School" and doesn't give a lot of context beyond that, I fudged it. Hope that you don't mind!

No apologies for the Part 4 cliffhanger. I'm just that evil. ;)

As always, thank you for reading. I write these stories because they're enjoyed, so your praise and feedback mean a lot to me.

-DFC


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